[Remaining Lifespan: 11 hours, 01 minutes, 37 seconds]
...Happy birthday in advance...
On the steps of the Bamboo House, Clarice handed a beautifully wrapped gift box to Qi Zhimu.
At this moment, the girl should have been smiling, but her lips seemed to be pressed down by something, unable to lift.
She tried hard to force a smile, but the curve of her lips could only weakly turn downwards.
"Don't worry, I know when I will die. No need to celebrate in advance."
...Mr. Qi is a big liar, I'm afraid you'll lie to me again.
"You girl, at least give an old man who's almost 175 years old some trust."
Qi Zhimu chuckled, taking the gift box with both hands.
He looked at Clarice for permission, and after receiving her slight nod of confirmation, he unwrapped the gift on the spot.
Inside was a Sachet exuding the fragrance of plum blossoms, a Scarf, and a hand-knitted Sweater.
Qi Zhimu's gaze paused for a moment, and his expression softened even more.
"...Thank you for the birthday gift, Clarice, I like it very much."
So, the girl's actions a while ago were for today.
Life is truly unpredictable.
Most regrets are destined, and most affections are not blessed.
Qi Zhimu knew that he could not give the girl a promise, nor should he.
Because he was about to die of old age.
"See if the size fits..." Clarice whispered.
Qi Zhimu took off his outer coat without hesitation and put on the Sweater.
It fit perfectly.
He put his outer coat back on, and just as he was about to speak, Clarice suddenly leaned closer, gently tying the Scarf around him and lightly hanging the Sachet at his waist.
They were very close; he could smell the faint fragrance from her hair.
"It's really cold, thanks to your thoughtful gift."
"Liar, your body has long been unable to sense temperature changes..."
"Yes, I haven't been able to sense it for a long time, but, girl..."
Meeting Clarice's eyes, Qi Zhimu took her hand and placed it over his chest, his tone gentle and warm.
"This heart, which has not yet stopped beating, is very warm right now."
Clarice stared blankly at those dark brown eyes; the tenderness that once made her fall for him was still there, unchanged.
But now, facing this tenderness, she could only suppress a sob.
"On this planet, these few days each year, the Starry Sky is always the most beautiful and clearest. Look up."
"Is Mr. Qi trying to say that people turn into stars after they die..."
"People don't turn into stars when they die; it's just a way for people to express their feelings through objects. Look over there—"
Clarice looked up, gazing at the direction Qi Zhimu was pointing.
Stars, like scattered diamonds, filled the sky, quietly twinkling in the deep dark night.
The edges of the stardust were tinged with light blue and cyan, forming a static river of light; no shooting stars streaked across, and no stars suddenly dimmed.
Peaceful, serene, beautiful.
Clarice was mesmerized.
In her Remembrance, she seemed to have never quietly gazed at the night sky like this before.
She also didn't know that the Starry Sky could be so beautiful.
"Isn't it exceptionally beautiful?"
"Mm... very pretty..." Clarice nodded unconsciously.
If Mr. Qi wasn't about to die of old age, how wonderful and romantic it would be to sit together in front of the Bamboo House and watch the stars tonight.
"Mr. Qi, I want to lean on your shoulder."
"Okay."
The girl leaned on Qi Zhimu's shoulder, greedily inhaling his scent, his smell.
The two quietly gazed at the Starry Sky, not speaking for a long time.
"Mr. Qi, tell me your story. From childhood to adulthood, the ordinary, the dangerous, the unfortunate, the beautiful—as long as you're willing to tell, I want to hear it all..."
She wanted to remember more of his deeds.
If possible, she wanted to engrave his entire life, and even... all of his Remembrance.
Besides her mother, she only had Mr. Qi.
But soon, Mr. Qi would leave her completely.
He would leave nothing behind, but Remembrance was different.
Mother was right... besides Remembrance, they had nothing.
"My story, huh..."
Qi Zhimu's tone was faint, and he unconsciously looked back at his past.
They say that before people die, they experience a 'life review,' where their entire life flashes before their eyes.
But it wasn't his time yet, and still, he saw many things.
"From the time I can remember, my hometown was engulfed in war, and people lived as wanderers, displaced and adrift..."
"No one knew what fate awaited them in the next moment."
"My parents might have died long ago, or perhaps lived a bit longer; I don't know."
"I was captured as backup food. People who were starving couldn't find food, so their own kind often became food."
"The apocalypse is cruel; to survive, there is no right or wrong, only the distinct differences in human nature."
"I, along with a group of children and people with little ability to resist, were locked in different cages for about ten days."
"During that time, many of the 'backup food' contracted various deadly biochemical viruses, and ironically, they were thrown away as a blessing in disguise, no longer having to worry about being eaten by their own kind."
"As for how long they would live afterward, no one had the right to hope for it; it was one day at a time..."
Clarice's already heavy heart felt even more choked by these words.
She deeply understood why Mr. Qi held his teacher in such high regard.
Pulling someone out of bottomless darkness—sometimes the reason is that simple... In a deserted place, a Manor stood.
Ruan Mei put down the observation lens in her hand and looked up at the ceiling with a detached expression.
Even the deeply buried underground laboratory could faintly hear thunder, showing how astonishing the thunder outside was.
She glanced at the failed experiment on the workbench and habitually ordered her AMu to clean it up.
But when she saw that familiar, lifeless face, Yu Qintu's parting words echoed in her mind.
For no reason, a rare sense of irritation arose in her heart.
Ruan Mei naturally didn't believe this was influenced by those words; after a brief thought, she attributed her emotions to the stagnation of her research progress.
"...Let's go out for a walk."
Taking the elevator out of the underground laboratory, as soon as the heavy door opened, a clap of thunder tore through the dark sky.
The torrential rain poured down like a waterfall.
Ruan Mei paused.
She seemed to have never seen such heavy rain.
No... she had seen it.
Countless Remembrance images flashed, finally settling on a scene from over a hundred years ago.
The first time she met AMu, it was also in such a downpour.
She stood at the edge of a deep pit, holding an Oil-paper umbrella, looking down at the Little Fellow curled up in a pile of rotting corpses, her gaze indifferent.
She remembered the Little Fellow's eyes—
Numb, empty.
After those gradually unfocused eyes noticed her, a faint glimmer, almost an illusion, appeared.
The light trembled before completely fading, congealing into something she had never seen before: a very light, very subtle... relief and worry.
Yes, worry.
Not worry about his own impending death, but worry that she would contract a deadly virus like him.
He had probably accepted his fate but didn't want to see anyone suffer as he did.
The thunder was deafening, and the raindrops seemed determined to swallow the world, falling desperately.
"Do you want to live?"
Her voice was very soft, barely audible in the thunder and rain.
However, the Little Fellow's dark gray lips slowly moved, emitting silent syllables.
"...Yes..."
And so, she let AMu live.
Unexpectedly, time flew by, and nearly 169 years passed in the blink of an eye.
Suddenly remembering these things, a thought arose in her heart: she wanted to see him and reminisce.
But within a few seconds, the thought was extinguished.
AMu had left her tutelage over a hundred years ago; where was he now, exactly?
He seemed not to have told her.
Nevermind, the research was far from a stage where it could be paused; there was no need to contact him.
With his intellect, though not comparable to world-renowned scholars, he should at least easily drive the bio-technology of an ordinary world civilization.
The knowledge she taught him was enough to solve all incurable diseases of mortals, and also included various methods to extend life by at least eight hundred years.
He had said he wanted to live.
Only a little over a hundred years had passed; it was far from the time she needed to worry about him.
"I'll take a bath, then continue with the research."
Ruan Mei walked steadily towards the hot spring bath.